


The Big Disasterous Bet of 1977

by carterhack



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Voldemort, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, POV Alternating, Sexual Tension, Sharing a Bed, Side Dorcus/Marlene, The Gryffindors are all messes, past abusive relationship, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:41:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29214333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carterhack/pseuds/carterhack
Summary: Sirius and Remus, along with James and Lily, find themselves in a very unusual and complicated predicament one night in the Gryffindor common room. Now, it seems, the four will spend the entirety of their last year at Hogwarts in fake relationships. What could possibly go wrong?
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 38
Kudos: 58





	1. I. Sirius

**Author's Note:**

> All the characters and the universe belong to JK Rowling, unfortunately, but I do not like nor condone her. I'd also like to add that in this fic, the wizarding world is a lot more open to being lgbtq+ than the muggle world is, so for the most part you don't have to worry about homophobia but later on, in the series, there will be small parts with some implied homophobia. Anyways, without further ado, here's my fic!

**Sirius**

They were all sitting in the common room late one night when it happened, and it all happened so suddenly that none of them even realized it was happening until it was much too late to turn back. It was only their second week back for their seventh and final year at Hogwarts, and all of them had been sitting around the dying fire, keeping to themselves. Lily Evans had been sitting on one side of the room with Dorcas Meadowes, Mary Macdonald, and Marlene McKinnon, the four of them chatting quietly. Across the room, Remus Lupin was sitting on a sofa, engrossed in whatever book he had in hand. On the floor sat James Potter and Peter Pettigrew, the two engaged in a game of chess. Sirius Black was standing, hovering above the three, looking over with a glint of mischief in his eyes. He was quite bored then, and he needed to do something to get the night more interesting. It was their final year, after all, and he didn’t fancy spending it like this. He would soon find himself regretting this decision. Sometimes boring was good.

"Mooooony," He purred teasingly, coming over and sitting on the sofa, peering over him like a cat, his head tilting in front of the pages. Remus groaned, shoving his head. Sirius was already enjoying this immensely so he leaned down more until he was laying down, his body sprawled out across his friend's lap and book.

"Get off," He groaned, giving him a hard shove, causing Sirius to tumble to the floor, his body hitting the carpet. Sirius gave Remus a playfully hurt look, sighing dramatically and waving his arms around until the book was flying off his lap. The other boy was definitely not amused by this, but Sirius found his irritably amusing. 

"Stop fucking around," Remus snapped, giving Sirius a harsh look. Sirius watched him, feeling the heat rise up his neck and face. He returned the look, properly annoyed now. All he wanted to do was make things less boring, and now the prick was mad at him. He didn’t understand why everyone was so adamant sitting around for their final year like this as if they weren’t about to all grow up and split apart. A familiar panic rose up in his stomach and throat, but he pushed it down to argue.

"I was just trying to have some fun for our last year," Sirius snapped, sitting up. "Not my fault you just want to be all boring and shit, reading books and doing homework when we're all about to leave." 

"At least I don't go around annoying the shit outta people just because I'm bored and want fucking attention!" Remus shot back. God, he always had to go get so fucking worked up, huh? Sirius stood up, about to continue before James cleared his throat loudly, looking at the two of them.

"Can you two stop fighting for five minutes?" He asked, crossing his arms. If he hadn't just gotten so upset, Sirius probably would have laughed just then. James kind of looked like a dad. "You two are always fighting."

"We do not!" Sirius stared at him and disbelief. He was not always arguing with Remus; he was one of his best friends in the world. Just because they argued occasionally did not mean they were always arguing. He was starting to feel embarrassed about the whole thing, and he was just about to apologize before realizing the girls had all looked over, listening in. Sirius glanced over at them then glanced over at Remus, the other boy looking equally as embarrassed. 

"You do." James sighed, turning to Peter. "What do you think we should do about them, Wormtail?" Peter, who had looked awkward and somewhat panicked during this whole ordeal, looked at James nervously and shrugged. The dark-haired boy thought for a moment, running a hand through his already messy hair. It seemed like everyone was holding their breath as the boy thought, but he finally looked up, a smirk played out across his lips.

"I have an excellent idea, Wormtail," He clapped his hands together, looking in between Remus and Sirius, laughing. Sirius knew this look of his best friend all too well. Whatever he was about to say was going to be incredibly brilliant, but terrifying to the recipient. Sirius swallowed, glancing over at Remus to see his face. He was staring at James, raising his eyebrows. Before anyone else could say anything, James was already speaking again.

"You two," He motioned between the two of them. "Have to pretend to date publicly until Christmas." Sirius's mouth fell open, his eyes widening. He must have been hearing wrong because he thought he just heard his best friend suggest he pretend to date Remus Lupin, their other best friend. His head swam, and he glanced over at Remus who shook his head, giving James a look that said, absolutely fucking not. Sirius couldn't agree more. 

"We will not do that," Remus said sternly. "That's complete shit." He should have felt hurt that he felt so negatively towards pretending to date him, but Sirius was in agreeance with him on this. This was completely nuts. Of course, this had brought the girls even more into the conversation and they were all staring at the boys with shocked expressions. Sirius caught Lily's expression of shock, and suddenly he had an idea. Ah yes, he thought. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad idea. In retrospect, he was tired and in shock, and reckless as hell. He should have thought more before continuing to speak. 

"Only if you do the same," He said slowly, raising his head and smirking at his best friend. "With Evans." He pointed across the room at the red-headed girl, whose face went from shock to fury in a short couple of seconds. He did feel somewhat bad about dragging her into this, but it’s not like he thought it would actually all happen.

"Absolutely not!" Lily and James both said at the same time, both of their faces bright red. Remus, like Sirius, now looked interested. He sat up straighter, snickering. 

"I agree to Mr. Black's terms," He spoke up. "I think, however, we should turn it into a bet unless you're too much of a wuss?" He raised his eyebrows at James, and Sirius glanced over at him. Okay, perhaps they were all tired and reckless. This was starting to snowball. 

"A bet?" James said incredulously.

"Yep," Remus nodded, and the girls behind Lily giggled. Everyone in the room was extremely interested now. 

“You are not dragging me into your mess,” Lily said, walking over to them. “Remus, I expected better from you.” The boy just shrugged, but he still had a smile on his face. Sirius looked at him. He really was kind of brilliant. There was no way Lily would let this happen, so then they had to get out of it too. At least, he wished he were that lucky.

“How would the bet work?” Dorcas said, now coming over. Lily shot her a look, and Remus looked sort of shocked. Jesus, things were getting really out of hand really fast. 

“The two can compete, and there can be punishments,” Peter suggested, causing everyone to look at him. He looked quite shy before shrugging. Sirius might have killed him then and there. This becoming a competition made their chances of now getting out of it very grim. They were all very competitive. 

“There should be rules then,” Dorcas said. Well, shit, if he thought it couldn’t have already gotten worse, it did.

“Definitely,” Mary nodded. Sirius groaned outwardly, sitting next to Remus and looking over at James and Lily, the four of them all stayed silent and nervous. 

“And it should last the whole year,” Marlene grinned. “That way there are higher stakes.” Sure, yes, this was utterly ridiculous and it was all going to go down in flames, but Sirius couldn’t help being somewhat impressed. If it were happening to anyone else, he would be thrilled. Alas, it was not, and he was getting more and more fucked as the girls continued to talk. 

“What should the rules be?” Dorcas asked, turning to Marlene and Mary. The three of them seemed to be ignoring the rest of them now. 

“No falling in love with the other,” Mary laughed, but everyone glanced towards James. His eyes widened, his mouth gaping. Sirius could not hold back his laughter in that moment, despite the fact that this was also happening to him.

“Not counting James, of course,” Mary nodded towards James. He fixed his glasses, opening his mouth to say something before closing it. Sirius couldn’t help but feel sorry. He also had no fucking clue what to say. Apparently, Remus did.

“But James can’t ask Evans out for real anymore,” He said. Sirius was wondering if everyone’s eyes were going to fall out of their head by the time they were done here. Everyone kept looking at each other, their expressions changing between each new person who spoke. “If the point of the bet is to not lose and one of the rules is to not fall in love, then James can’t, in any way, seriously conquer her outside of the fake relationship.” James was now gaping at him. Now that was cruel, Sirius thought. James had been trying to win Lily over since he met her. Taking away his adamant love for Lily Evans was like taking away his heart. 

“Fine,” Lily crossed her arms. They all looked at her. She looked stern but unreadable at the same time. Sirius couldn’t tell if her face was red because of anger or because of something else, but if it was something else she wasn’t going to show it. “I’ll do it.” James, poor James, looked so conflicted. Sirius would have to talk to him about this later. Sure, he technically started this whole fucking mess, but still. 

“Brilliant,” Mary clasped her hands together. “Another thing…” She grinned brightly, but Sirius could see the evilness behind it. How could this possibly still be getting worse? 

“No one outside of the room can know,” She looked amongst the others. “Other friends, family, professors, pretty much every single person who doesn’t already know about the bet, can’t know about it.”

“So,” Remus said carefully. “We have to pretend to be in a relationship in front of pretty much everyone?” Sirius swallowed. Okay so, this was getting worse and worse every time something new was added. Great. Fantastic. Bloody brilliant.

“Yes, and obviously,” Mary looked very much like an evil comic book villain right now. “If anyone backs out it’s an immediate disqualification.” At least that was somewhat reasonable, Sirius noted. Not that this entire thing was anywhere near reasonable, but at least they had a way out. 

“What do we have to do?” Remus asked, looking at her with a confusing expression that Sirius couldn’t quite read. It seems that none of them knew what to say or do now. Sirius wondered what time it was, and also wondered if this was all sleep-deprived madness. They really should go to bed and mull this over until the morning. Maybe then, everyone will have some more sense and this whole thing will go away.

“Just make sure everyone knows you’re dating,” Marlene said. “You know, hand-holding, hugging, snogging.” She shrugged as if that was the most obvious and simplest thing in the world. Sirius, however, felt his face burn and his stomach flip. Snogging? Why were any of them still talking about this? He loved a good prank, obviously. He loved making mischief and betting, definitely. It was in his nature. He, however, did not love this. The three of them, Lily, Remus, and Sirius, all started to protest loudly, while James looked very much out of it. 

“Shhh,” Mary waved her hands. “You haven’t even heard the stakes yet.” This, only somewhat, piqued Sirius’s interest. 

“What is it?” He asked, raising his eyebrows. Mary smirked, grabbed Peter by the arm, and hauled him over two the other side of the room as she motioned Dorcas and Marlene to follow. The four of them whispered around whilst the other four watched them.

“What the fuck,” Remus whispered, turning to James. “This is all your fault you know.” He didn’t say it mean or vicious, more in a matter-of-fact sort of way, but James shot him a defensive look.

“I was mainly joking!” He said, pushing a hand through his hair. “I didn’t think it would go this far, and I didn’t think that I would have to be a part of it too.” He was a little huffy and still very flustered. His skin was dark so you couldn’t tell, but Sirius knew the other well enough to know that he was blushing. Lily was definitely blushing.

“We’re not actually going to do this are we?” She asked, staring at them. “This is one of your stupid jokes, right?” 

“It was until the girls got involved,” James muttered, and he held up his hands as soon as the girl looked at him again. “I mean, they’re great, but you have to admit this is ridiculous.” The red-head just sighed and nodded, turning to look over at them. She was chewing on her lip.

“Didn’t you agree?” Sirius asked, raising his eyebrows. So far, she had been the only one of them to actually agree. Well, except Remus, but he was clearly just being quick-witted to get out of the situation. Sirius was glad he was there and was thankful for his brains, but now none of that mattered. 

“I only agreed because then Potter would stop flirting with me,” She sighed. “Clearly I didn’t think I’d have to snog him.” Her face was still red. Sirius tried his hardest not to laugh.

“Okay,” Dorcas said, the little group of four coming back over to the other group of four. Eight completely reckless idiots, Sirius thought. Not that he was a reckless idiot, but technically his boredom was the reason this was happening. Or was it Remus getting too pissed off? Or was it James? Sirius wasn’t quite sure. Maybe it was all of their faults. Usually, Sirius was very proud of the fact that he’d been in Gryffindor. If not to stick it to his family, he actually enjoyed his fellow Gryffindors, but something told him shit like this did not happen in the other common rooms at this hour. “We’ve figured it all out.” 

“Figured what out?” Lily asked, watching them nervously. Sirius couldn’t blame her. He had no idea where this was going, and he decided it was best not to guess. Everything else that happened so far made no sense, and it wasn’t going to start making any sense now.

“Your punishments, of course,” Marlene grinned, Dorcas and Mary nodding along with her. Peter just looked like he wanted to go to bed. Sirius related to him immensely. 

“Yes,” Mary nodded. “You each will have varying punishments we picked out specifically for each individual.” No wonder they took such a long time discussing. They were bloody madman coming up with torture techniques.

“Peter will start since he came up with most of them,” Dorcas spoke, motioning towards Peter. The poor fool’s eyes widened, and he turned towards the girls. 

“Traitor,” Sirius mumbled, shaking his head. “To think, I thought you were a marauder.” Peter looked very upset, but Marlene motioned for him to continue. He sighed and nodded before speaking quietly.

“If Moony and Padfoot lose, they’ll have to jump in the lake together naked on the last day of school in front of everyone,” He mumbled, looking away. Remus’s eyes widened and he sat up, opening his mouth to speak. Sirius wondered why he looked so alarmed, but then he remembered his scars.

“No,” Sirius shook his head, giving Peter a stern look. “Not naked. Moony doesn’t want to get naked in front of a bunch of people, Wormtail.” He continued to stare the shorter boy down before his eyes widened and he nodded.

“Okay, clothed,” He nodded. “They’ll jump in the lake together clothed.” The girls just shrugged and nodded in agreement, either not caring or not wanting to see them naked in the first place. Sirius wondered if Peter was the one to come up with that bit.

“And if Prongs and Evans lose, Evans will have to stand up at the last banquet and read whatever Prongs wants, no limits” He paused, looking at James sheepishly. “And Prongs will have to fall off his broom on the last Quidditch game… in front of everyone.” James stared at him, shocked. Uh oh. James Potter never fell off his broom, and he was way too arrogant to ever let himself fall in front of other people. Stakes were apparently extremely high for him. Good thing he was actually in love with Lily. Sirius could not say the same for himself. How was he supposed to fake date his best friend? He glanced over at Remus.

“What if we don’t want to do it?” Sirius questioned, raising his eyebrows. “I don’t give a shit if I have to jump in a lake, I’ll do it.” Remus chuckled softly next to him before looking up and nodding in agreement. 

“Are you boys scared you’ll fall in love?” Mary raised her eyebrows, smirking. “Or are you scared of losing to Potter and Evans?” Sirius looked over at Remus, who had a determined look in his eye. Sirius sighed. So it was settled.

“Okay, let’s do it,” Remus said, at the same time Sirius said, “Let’s go get ‘em, Moony.” They had done a lot of reckless and stupid things in their years at this school, but this definitely felt like the worst one yet.

Once everything was all finished and settled, they all shook on it then immediately all filed to bed afterward. Sirius had no idea what hour it was by that point, but it was certainly late, and they all were definitely going to be exhausted during tomorrow's lessons, not that that was the worst of tomorrow's worries. His three roommates were very quiet as they all got ready for bed, and they all silently got in bed as soon as they were done. Usually, they were louder during this ordeal, but after everything that happened the three boys in the bet were all anxious and confused about what just happened. Peter was quiet too, though Sirius figured he was probably just guilty or equally as confused as they were. Wormtail was usually confused. After carefully noting everyone in the room’s demeanor, Sirius thought anxiously about tomorrow and every other day for the rest of that year. Way to go out with a bang, he thought. Maybe this was karma for wanting a more exciting year. None of them would certainly forget this year, that was for sure.

“Good luck tomorrow, Moony and Prongs,” Sirius turned, flashing them both a grin before closing his curtain. James just gave a weak groan, and Sirius was worried James might actually die before he even had the chance to fake-kiss Lily. Remus, however, seemed his normal cheery self.

“Shut the fuck up,” Remus said, his voice dripping with annoyance, before closing his own curtain.

“I love it when you tell me what to do, sweetheart,” Sirius said back, laughing, though saying the words brought him more fear of what was to start tomorrow. Jesus, this was going to be their longest year ever. 


	2. II. James

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James's crush on Lily is already getting in the way of the bet, so he handles it with a new rule.

**James**

James Potter had decided he was in love with Lily Evans when he was eleven-year-old. Okay so, maybe he didn’t fall in love with her that young, but as soon as he saw the red-headed girl with green eyes he instantly knew she was the prettiest girl he had ever laid eyes on. Not to mention, as he had gotten to know her, he realized she was also the best person he had ever met. She was fierce and strong, but she was still kind and soft. She cared deeply about so much, and she always seemed to see the best in a person. When he was around her, she took his breath away, and he would feel his stomach twist and his face would grow warm. He would have moved the moon and sun to be able to call her his girlfriend. He would have done anything in the world to be able to kiss her and hold her hand. Well, he thought he would have done anything, but it turns out he was wrong. He absolutely did not want to do this. 

When he woke up that morning, for a moment, he had forgotten about everything that happened the night before. It was a relaxing period of time before everything came rushing back to him. He shut his eyes again, shaking his head and groaning. He wondered how today would even work. They’d talked briefly about what they had to do, and just thinking about it made his head swim. It was all very conflicting, being in love with Lily and having to pretend to be in a relationship with her while all he wanted to do was to be in a real relationship with her.

“Prongs?” His thoughts were interrupted as Sirius pulled back his curtains. “What’re you still doing in bed?” He laughed. James sat up, sliding on his glasses. Remus stood behind Sirius, shifting on his feet awkwardly. He looked like he was waiting for something, and James figured he was waiting for Sirius so the two could walk out together. 

“I’m fine, you can go ahead,” James motioned forward, hopping out to get ready as quickly as he could. He was usually the first one up because he was the Head Boy and he liked to do some Quidditch practice in the morning when he had the time, but it was a weird night so he gave himself some lenience. Hopefully, he wouldn’t get in too much trouble. He was the last to leave the room, but he didn’t mind too much. Maybe that meant he’d miss breakfast and wouldn’t have to see Lily until a little later. He didn’t think he’d ever tried avoiding her before, and the fact that he was trying to now upset him deeply, but he tried not to think about that as he left. Of course, the one person he had the most complicated feelings towards right now was standing right in the middle of the common room.

“Potter,” She raised her eyebrows, crossing her arms. “You’re late.” James cleared his throat, nodding towards her with a wide grin. There were still quite a few people milling around the room, and he knew that he technically had to do something right now. He tried to think what he would do if the two were actually dating, but that thought made him feel more anxious. He pushed back his nerves, leaning forward to place a small, quick kiss on her cheek. Her skin was warm and soft beneath his lips, and he wondered if he was going to pass out. Lily looked surprised, but she smiled nervously after the shock.

“So,” She said. “This is happening then.” He swallowed, trying to figure out what she was feeling but coming up with no solid answer.

“Yep,” He ran a hand through his hair nervously. “We can back out if you want. I will write you a very simple note to read, nothing embarrassing. You can even write it yourself and I’ll say I did.” He shrugged, glancing at her. She stared at him, furrowing her brow. 

“But you’d have to fall off your broom,” She shook her head. James shrugged again, but she was right. It definitely wasn’t something he’d ever want to do, but he’d rather do that than be a reason for Lily’s discomfort. He didn’t want a relationship with her if it was something they were forced into.

“It’s fine,” He told her, smiling. “It’s not that big a deal, really. I’d rather do that than ruin your whole seventh year.” She gave him another one of her unreadable expressions before shaking her head, grabbing his hand and pulling his arm around her shoulders. 

“Falling off your broom in front of everyone will only hurt your ego,” She smirked. “And your ego is all you have, so we have to keep it intact.” Yeah, James was surely going to die because of this girl.

* * *

The rest of the day wasn’t as bad as he thought it was going to be, but he wasn’t really expecting it to be horrible. A part of himself, a part that James was very ashamed of, was secretly happy to fake date Lily Evans. He hated thinking that, though, and he really wished he didn’t. He didn’t want a relationship with Lily if it meant all this, and yet he still felt like he was soaring through the clouds when she put his arm around her earlier, or when he held her hand while they walked to the library. It made him feel guilty like he was forcing her into the whole thing even though he knew that wasn’t the case. 

At dinner, everything felt even more real. The first few times that day where they had to do fake couple things, it had only been a few people watching. Now, as Lily was leaning on him and talking to some of their other friends, the entire school could see. Some people were whispering and staring at them which was more nerve wracking than anything. He guessed it was because of how many people knew about Lily turning him down in the past, or the fact that they were both fairly popular seventh years. Or maybe it was Severus Snape glaring at him from the Slytherin table whispering to pretty much everyone at the table.

“Should we do something about him?” Sirius raised his eyebrows at him. Remus has his arm around him, but the two of them looked way more at ease in this whole thing. It was probably because, as best friends, they were much more used to casual touching. Hell, it would probably be easier for him to pretend to date Sirius than it would be Lily. James looked up, and Lily sat up straighter, though she was still very much up against his side. He couldn’t really think properly with her that close.

“Who?” Remus looked up, his mouth still full of food. He swallowed, looking up at Sirius. He did, actually, look kind of anxious and stiff with his arm around Sirius in front of everyone. It caused less talk, though, probably because Sirius often had his arm around James or Remus in a platonic matter. James didn’t say this, though, because he didn’t want them to feel pressured to start snogging right at dinner. 

“Snivellus,” Sirius commented, pointing over towards the Slytherin table with his fork. “He keeps pointing at Prongs.” Lily wrinkled her nose.

“You can’t do anything to him first,” She urged. “You can’t be the first to do something.”

“He’s probably jealous,” Remus said, taking a roll of Sirius’s plate. “And pissed cause Prongs is dating Evans.”

“He’s probably saying something nasty,” Mary piped in, looking up from her own conversation. Mary, along with most muggle-borns and people in general, hated Snape. James’s father had said things had gotten better recently about people believing in blood purity, but there were still many people who believed in some pretty awful stuff. Those ideas became less popular as things progressed, and it was now looked down upon to have those sorts of ideals. They knew, though, there were still many families who believed in them, but didn’t speak out on it as not to face any sort of trouble. They were all lucky they didn’t have any sort of leader to urge these crazy beliefs. A lot of the students, however, had some pretty crazy leaders of their own. Leaders called parents who urged them to pick on students like Mary and Lily. Not that that was an excuse, Sirius was proof of that. Snape, however, seemed to easily partake in these views with those students. 

“Let him,” Lily mumbled, leaning in closer to James and putting her arm around him. He realized she was doing it to stop them from doing anything. “Don’t stoop to his level.” Her voice was bitter, and James was glad, at least, that she was no longer best friends with him. She used to be real close with the creep, but after a few too many incidents of him showing his true colours they were no longer even talking. She still didn’t like when they fought with him, however. 

“Fine,” Sirius mumbled, but he was glaring over at the Slytherin table, and James knew who he was looking at, specifically. He had a calculing look on him like he was thinking something over. He’d have to do something later to stop whatever he was going to do or Lily was going to get even more upset, and she was probably already upset because of this whole fake-relationship thing. He should probably talk to her too, he thought. Apparently, he needed to have a few important conversations later tonight.

-

After dinner, everyone started filing out to go do various things before curfew. James spoke to a couple of first years before dodging the rest of the crowds, searching for his best friend. He found him, walking out with Remus and Marlene. James rushed over to them, giving Sirius a tentative smile. He knew Sirius Black well enough to know that look at dinner did not mean anything.

“Moony,” James smirked, looking at his other best friend. “Do you mind if I borrow your boyfriend?” 

“Hahaha,” Remus said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and taking his arm away from Sirius’s shoulder. “Fuck off, Prongs.” 

“You love me, Moony,” He grinned back at him. Sirius laughed and shoved James, shaking his head.

“I thought Moony was mine,” He fake pouted. “Are you trying to move in on my man?” 

“Nobody owns me, I am no one’s man.” Remus deadpanned, staring at the two of them before smiling and turning away.

“Aw, leaving so soon?” James teased, causing Remus to nod his head.

“I’m going to the library with Marlene,” He turned around to look at the two of them. “Please don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

“No promises,” Sirius said back, winking. “You know you’re my impulse control.” It was a joke, but James thought there was some truth in it. Remus was kind of like their impulse control. Despite his quickness to anger and his partaking in their pranks, Remus was still the most level-headed person out of the four marauders. 

“You know you can’t do anything to him,” James said, first, raising his eyebrows at him as soon as it were just the two of them. “This dating thing isn’t going to go down well if Lily hates me.”

“Snivellus deserves it,” Sirius said bitterly, crossing his arms. “I’ve been hearing some of the shit he’s been saying-”

“I know,” James cut him off. “But, please? If not for her, for me?” He smiled at him. Sirius groaned, shaking his head.

“Fine,” He mumbled, though James didn’t fully believe this. “I won’t do anything… first.” James swallowed but let it be for now. 

“How are you?” James asked, trying to change the subject, plus he hadn’t yet had a chance to talk with Sirius alone about this whole thing. 

“Aside from Snivellus, perfectly grand, obviously,” Sirius said, his mood changing before smiling a little too wide. James didn’t know why he even tried lying, the two of them pretty much had a psychic connection. He knew when Sirius wasn’t doing good, and he also knew when the other boy wasn’t telling the truth. 

“Obviously,” James mimicked, rolling his eyes and leaning on Sirius’s shoulder.

“Are you trying to make your move on me now, Prongs?” Sirius laughed, putting an arm around him. “I’m a faithful man to Moony, you know.” James sighed and elbowed him, shaking his head and quirking his eyebrow.

“I’m being serious,” James mumbled, regretting it immediately. He’d been best friends with him since he was eleven, he should have known not to say that. Internally, he blamed this slip up on the fact that he had a stressful day.

“How can you be Sirius?” He frowned. “That’s my thing.” James groaned, shoving the other boy. Of course, he shoved him back and it turned into the two of them shoving each other until they were on the floor, laughing and out of breath.

“I’m fine,” Sirius finally said, pushing himself up so he was sitting. James followed suit, turning towards him. “It’s just me and Moony, it’ll be easy. I’m more worried about you.” Once again, James knew he was lying, but he didn’t want to push it. He had to wait until a better time to talk to him about that.

“Well,” He thought for a moment, shaking his head. “I’m stressed.” Sirius laughed, nodding as if he agreed, which was definitely something. At least now he knew he at least felt somewhat similar to him.

“You’re finally dating Evans,” Sirius teased, pushing himself up from the floor so he was standing. 

“I didn’t want to date her like this,” James frowned, standing up alongside him. “I want it to be… real.” He emphasised the last word, running a hand through his hair. Sirius gave him a split-second look, and James realized, with panic, that he didn’t know what the look meant. That was extremely rare for him and Sirius.

“I know,” Sirius said, and James watched him very carefully as he spoke. “But it’ll be okay, maybe she’ll realize she’s really in love with you while she’s faking it.” He grinned, putting a hand on his shoulder as they started walking. 

“It feels so much more complicated than that,” James huffed. “I hate this bet.” 

“Yeah,” Sirius sighed, turning to look at him with a small smile. “Me too.” James felt relieved at that and nodded, smiling back.

“And it is going to be okay with you two,” Sirius reassured. “You’re Lily and James, it’s obviously going to work out and you’re going to get married and have a bunch of little kids.” James laughed, feeling his face warm slightly.

“One step at a time, though,” Sirius hummed. “You should talk to her.” 

“I will,” James agreed. It was the exact thing he was going to do right after this conversation.

“Good,” Sirius nodded, grinning again.

“When did you get so reasonable?” James asked jokingly, raising his eyebrows. “One day of fake dating Moony and suddenly you’re all wise.”

“He’s changed me for the better,” Sirius nodded before laughing. Again, something felt off about him, and he was about to risk bringing it up again before the two ran into, of course, Lily Evans. 

“Potter, Black,” She nodded towards them, fiddling with a book she had in her arms.

“I’ll let you two lovebirds have some time alone,” Sirius winked, slipping away from James and walking past the two swiftly. James cursed internally, inhaling a breath.

“Hey Evans,” He grinned, towards her with enthusiasm, causing her to roll her eyes.

“Soon we’ll have to start making sure everyone is able to get to bed on time,” She said slowly, looking at him. He nodded. It was still early in school, and a lot of first years kept getting lost or forgetting the password to get to the common room.

“Right,” James nodded. “We’ll do that just uh… can I talk to you first?” She gave him a pointed look then nodded.

“Yeah, okay,” She said before leading him to an empty corridor. His heart sped up from being alone with her, but he pushed it down the best he could and ran a nervous hand through his hair.

“I don’t want to snog you,” He declared, immediately realizing that was all wrong. She raised her eyebrows, looking at him angrily. He sighed.

“I mean,” He said. “I don’t want to fake kiss you, so if it isn’t real, I don’t want to do it.” He looked at her, fixing his glasses. She frowned.

“How will we keep the bet going then?” She asked. “Wasn’t it a part of the rules?”

“The rules just said nobody had to know it was fake,” He explained. “We can hold hands, spend time together, tell people we’re dating, whatever is necessary. Just not… that.”

“You kissed me this morning,” She reminded him, crossing her arms, holding her book to her chest. The reminder made his heart jump. He swallowed, shaking his head. He needed to just relax if they were going to do this.

“That wasn’t on the mouth,” He said. 

“So you don’t want to kiss me on the mouth?” She raised her eyebrows, and he nodded his head slowly. He wondered, again, if he was going to just drop dead right then and there. He also wondered how many times he thought that exact thought today.

“Why?” She asked, giving him an unreadable look. He frowned, running his hand through his hair again. Surely, she knew why. He had told her how he felt about her before. It was rather consistent, actually. 

“You know why,” He urged. She didn’t seem to like this answer, but she continued.

“Okay, fine,” She nodded. “Is that all?” He looked at her, feeling a sinking feeling in his stomach, and nodded. 

“Uh, yeah,” He smiled at her, leaning against the wall. She nodded again then pushed past him.

“Great,” She said. “Now let’s go actually do what we’re supposed to be doing.” He swallowed, turning his head to watch her walk away for a moment, urging his heart rate to go down. This was going to be even harder than he imagined, he thought before following Lily Evans down the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, please comment if you enjoyed the chapter! It fuels my ego. Actually though, not getting comments kind of discourages me, so I adore it whenever you guys leave comments! :) Being an attention whore aside, I have been working on this fic harder than my schoolwork so I hope everyone is enjoying it so far! I have a lot of plans for this fic ;)


	3. III. Remus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This bet ended up being way more difficult than Remus had originally thought it was going to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for some implied suggestive content? It's really subtle and nothing actually happens, but it's kind of suggestive I guess.

**Remus**

Seven days into the bet, Remus realized there was a major flaw in his and Sirius’s part in the bet: no one thought they were dating. It took a while to realize this; they had both genuinely thought things were going well. That, however, was not the case. Listen, Remus wasn’t stupid. He knew that Sirius was generally a touchy person when it came to him, James, and Peter. To be quite honest, all four of them would be a little touchy with each other. That was normal for them, they were close friends. Still, Remus was sure he and Sirius were acting way more different than usual. In fact, he knew they were acting differently. They were holding hands, putting their arms around each other, they even practically cuddled in the Gryffindor common room yesterday. Apparently, this still wasn’t enough. He realized this when he was in the library a week into the bet, one of the rare times that week he was actually alone, and he overheard some girls talking at one of the tables.

“Did you hear about Potter and Evans?” One of the girls, a Ravenclaw, whispered.

“Yes,” Her Hufflepuff friend giggled. “Evans is so lucky.” She sighed dreamily, and the Ravenclaw girl nodded.

“Yeah,” She lowered her voice. She probably meant this to be a secret, not knowing a werewolf with excellent hearing was sitting in the room. “I should ask Sirius Black out so we can be the next popular Hogwarts couple.” The two started giggling now, chatting quietly about Sirius and other guys they fancied who they thought they had a chance with. Remus left the library soon after, not feeling like studying anymore.

At first, this was all just an annoyance to Remus as he was trying to study quietly, but as he made his way through the halls and back to his dorm he realized what it actually meant. Those girls thought Sirius was single, which meant that they didn’t know Remus and Sirius were dating. Fake dating, but still, they thought Sirius was available, which he technically wasn’t. He did feel bad about that. People were always flirting and throwing themselves at Sirius, and he was also flirty back. He never dated anyone, at least not one Remus knew about, but he was older now. Maybe he wanted to actually date someone instead of fake dating. Still, Sirius really didn’t want to lose the bet, nor did Remus, and he now knew that people didn’t know they were dating. 

Remus sighed as he got lost in thought, going over what they could possibly do to make them seem more convincing. Only one idea stuck out, and it made his face burn and his heart thud roughly against his chest. 

“Hi,” Sirius’s voice broke him out of thought, as soon as he stepped into the room. He sat up from where he was laying on his bed, looking up at Remus. Shit, Remus thought, he had to bring up what he just heard right now instead of later.

“Are you taking a nap?” Remus raised his eyebrows, walking over to the bed and sitting next to him. “It’s in the middle of the afternoon.” 

“I didn’t have a class,” Sirius shrugged, scooting over to give him more room. "Were you in the library?" Remus nodded slowly, chewing on his bottom lip.

"Uh... yeah," He mumbled, shifting awkwardly. "I actually wanted to talk to you about that." 

"I'm not going to the library with you," Sirius held up his hands. "That's where I draw the line." Remus laughed, shoving him lightly. 

"I know that, it's about something else," He sighed. "I heard some girls talking and uh... people aren't catching on to the whole fake dating thing..." He didn't know why he felt nervous about this. He guessed it was because it meant they had to act even more convincing, and he was already awkward and uncomfortable enough with this whole bet. 

“Right,” Sirius sighed, shaking his head. “I thought so…” Remus stared at him in disbelief. He thought the same thing, but didn’t say anything about it? 

“We have to do something about it, you know,” Remus shifting. “Unless you wanna call off the bet.” It wasn’t something he, personally, wanted to do. He didn’t love the idea of being in a fake relationship for a whole school year, but he wasn’t about to quit a week into this thing. It’d look weak, and it’d look like he had something to hide, which he didn’t. There was no underlying reason he didn’t want to do this, he just didn’t. Sirius was one of his best friends and it was awkward pretending to be in a relationship with him when he wasn’t. Not that he would ever seriously date him. He groaned, inwardly. This whole thing was already messing with his head. 

“No,” Sirius shook his head then cracked a smile. “We can do this, right Moons?” He winked then sat up straighter, running a hand through his hair to smoothen it out. Remus watched him before turning away, looking down at a shirt that was thrown on the floor. God, their room was a mess. He was suddenly very aware of the fact that they were alone on a bed in their bedroom in the middle of the day. He felt his cheeks get warmer and he swallowed, ignoring the way his heart rate sped up. It’s not like they hadn’t been in intimate situations before. Not that this was intimate. It wasn’t. They were two friends having a conversation. Remus was just acting weird because he had to hold hands and act like a couple with Sirius all week. It was messing with his head.  
“Right,” He nodded slowly before snapping his head up. “This whole thing isn’t ruining your love life right?” He said it quickly with a bite to his voice. He knew he had to bring it up, but he didn’t know why he felt so angry about it as he spoke.

“Wh-” Sirius looked confused, but Remus cut him off to reiterate.

“I mean,” He paused, thinking for a moment and letting his unnecessary anger subside. What did he mean? He was probably just being paranoid or anxious, but he had to bring it up because it was gnawing at him. “It’s our seventh year. There’s no one else you actually want to date for real?” Sirius was still giving him a funny look, and he felt like he said something wrong.

“No,” He laughed. “I don’t want to date anyone but you.” He winked, and Remus rolled his eyes, shoving him. Being annoyed at Sirius was much easier than being confused and anxious about him. It was easy and familiar; it was something he’d been doing since he was eleven.

“Shut up,” He groaned. “I was just asking.” He studied Sirius’s face, trying to see what he was feeling but not saying. Sirius didn’t always say what he was actually feeling. In fact, he almost never shared what he was actually feeling, but over the years Remus had learned quite a lot about Sirius Black and could even detect how he was actually feeling often now. 

“Aw,” He leaned forward. Whatever he was actually feeling, aside from joking around, seemed to be unreadable. “Do you care about my love life, Moony?” Remus shoved him, watching him fall to the bed.

“Forget I asked,” He sighed. “I thought you could have a normal conversation.” He should have figured this, though he didn’t exactly know why he was being so closed off. Maybe this whole thing was just too awkward and weird for him; Remus knew it was for himself.

“This is a normal conversation,” He smiled a stupid, crooked smile. Remus wanted to punch him.

“I mean a serious conversation.” He stared at him, threateningly as if telling the other boy not to say a word. He was not in the mood for this, and he regretted even having this conversation right now.

“I am-” As soon as he started, Remus groaned again and pushed him off the bed with his foot. Sirius yelped as he tumbled to the floor. He leaned over the bed and looked down at him, laughing quietly.

“You wounded me yet again, Moony,” He feigned an injury, throwing himself across the floor dramatically. Remus rolled his eyes, still laughing.

“I think I would rather pretend to date Prongs,” Remus said, pushing himself off the bed and standing up. Sirius laughed, getting up from the floor and stumbling over to him so they were standing face to face.

“Now emotionally hurting me,” He shook his head. “I think this is an abusive relationship.” 

“I think this is an annoying relationship.” Remus shoved him again before looking up, remembering why he was even in there in the first place. He shifted on his feet, looking down before looking back up again. Sirius wasn’t terribly shorter than him, but Remus tilted his head down ever so slightly as he made eye contact with him.

“What are we going to do about the bet-” Remus asked, keeping his tone more serious so Sirius knew not to joke around this time. Sirius leaned closer instead of speaking, causing Remus’s voice to get stuck in his throat. He swallowed as the other boy loosened his tie. He then ruffled Remus’s hair before leaning back, loosening his own tie and unbuttoning the first few buttons on his shirt.

“Follow my lead,” He said, grabbing Remus’s hand and dragging him down towards the common room. His hand felt tingly where Sirus’s hand held his, and he felt stupid. They had been holding hands all week, but something about this felt more charged somehow. 

“I’m glad we share a room,” Sirius turned to him, winking. He said it as if he were talking to just Remus, but it was loud enough to have people’s heads snap up to look at them. There were actually quite a lot of people in there now, and most of their eyes were on the two of them. 

“Uh, me too?” Remus mumbled, probably not loud enough for anyone but Sirius to hear. He had no idea what was happening, and he really didn’t know what was happening when Sirius laughed and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the side of his throat. Remus shuddered, trying to hide it by faking a laugh. He felt heat rise up his neck, and his pulse quickened. He swallowed thickly, turning to Sirius with a forced smile. He knew what was going on now, and somehow knowing made everything worse. He felt hot and anxious, so he turned to focus his attention on everyone else in the room. Everyone was staring at them, shocked, now. Many of which were looking at Sirius with disappointment. It was working. Remus felt a little sprout of possession rise in him, thinking about how now no girls would be giggling over the chance to date Sirius Black now. Immediately, pushed that thought down before looking back at Sirius. What the fuck was happening?

* * *

Remus had his arm around Sirius’s shoulders again at dinner again, but everything felt different this time in the worst way possible. People were looking at the two of them now, the story of what happened in the Gryffindor common room no doubt spreading. News tended to travel pretty fast at Hogwarts. 

“So,” James cleared his throat, looking between Sirius and Remus as if he wanted to say something. “How was your afternoon?” Of course James knew. He looked around at their friends, and all of them were giving them varying looks. Mary, Dorcas, and Marlene all looked somewhat impressed with them, probably because they were following through with the bet so well. James just looked perplexed, and Peter looked surprised and a little scared as if he were going to have to kiss someone even though he wasn’t even a part of the bet.

“Great!” Sirius grinned, looking excited and mischievous. Remus realized, then, that he was treating this like some massive prank. That wasn’t good for either of them; it meant that he would take this way too far to be convincing. Remus really regretted his earlier talk with Sirius. “Moony and I spent the afternoon together.” The way he said it was suggestive that Remus had to look away, his eyes falling on Marlene who was laughing.

“You two are such a cute couple,” Mary cooed. Remus groaned, now turning to Lily a pleading look. She shrugged, giving him a look of sympathy and looking at her hand which was intertwined with James’s. He nodded to her solemnly, and she gave him a small smile.

“You two aren’t actually dating,” A young ginger Gryffindor boy looked at them, rolling his eyes. “This is just another one of your guys’ dumb pranks.” Quite a few people looked at him then started whispering and nodding along; a few girls even looked hopeful.

“We are dating,” Remus said, his voice coming out snappy and maybe a little harsh. What the fuck was going on with him? He turned to Sirius, staring him in the eyes. He scanned them, but he couldn’t tell what he was thinking for the second time that day. Not to mention, everyone was looking at them again, and a lot of them were whispering. Remus really wished his hearing wasn’t as good as it was because he heard all the doubts throughout the table and even throughout the whole hall. Every one of their friends was looking at them to see what they would do next. Remus swallowed, giving a warning look to Sirius before leaning in and shutting his eyes. Once their lips met, Sirius froze. Warning signals shot off in Remus’s head, and he realized this was a terrible idea. Just before he tried pulling away, Sirius was grabbing his arm and kissing him back. It was rough and his skin burned and grew hot. His head kept telling him to stop, but they both kept going until they were pulling away out of breath. Remus felt hot and shaky as he looked down at his plate. Sirius only kissed him back to prove to everyone they were dating just as he had done in the common room earlier, he reminded himself. He was mad at himself for needing the reminder, and he was also very very confused. He turned over to him, looking at him subtly. He lifted his drink to his lips, gulping it down quickly. Remus bit his lip and looked away, remembering he was in a room full of people. He looked up, noticing all of the eyes on him. His face felt hot and he shifted, trying to find something to look at. Even the girls looked shocked at this point, and he really wished everyone would just look away.

“Uh, wow,” James cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses. He had a shocked expression on his face, his mouth gaping slightly. “That was…” He didn’t finish his sentence, but Remus thought that fit perfectly for the situation. It certainly was. 

* * *

Nothing much happened after dinner, fortunately. Remus didn’t know if he could handle any more of… that. Anymore of Sirius. After dinner, Remus simply excused himself and went to the library. He tried reading, but his mind was all jumbled, so he just stared down at his book thinking until curfew. He didn’t really know what he was thinking or what was even happening. He went over what happened that day over and over in his head trying to make sense of everything, but he couldn’t. Earlier, when Sirius kissed his neck, his whole body felt like it was on fire. Then later, Remus kissed him, and he didn’t want it to stop. The only conclusion he could muster was that he was actually attracted to Sirius, which made no sense. Sirius was his best friend, just as James and Peter, and he knew he didn’t like any of them. Sure, he thought Sirius looked good. Anyone with eyes could see that he was attractive, that didn’t mean he was attracted to him. Then, he thought about watching Sirius in Quidditch and about his long hair or the way he looked when he went to Remus’s over the summer and they put on muggle nail polish. Fuck. Had he been attracted to Sirius Black this whole time and not noticed it?

When he finally went up to bed, his roommates all seemed to be in bed already, which was odd for them. He didn’t try to question it too much, though, as he got ready quietly. Once he was ready, he crawled into bed and pulled the curtains around him. His body still felt warm from earlier and he groaned in annoyance at himself as he pulled the sheets up to his neck, pushing his pillow down on his face. He made an angry, muffled noise into it before shutting his eyes. Everything was only going to get much worse from here, and Remus was not looking forward to any of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remus is so fun to write for, so I hope I got his characterization down! I wanted to throw in some gay panic because that's my specialty. Anyways, thank you to everyone who commented on my last chapter! You are all so nice. I know I technically asked for it, but comments mean a lot to me so I'm happy and thankful nonetheless!


	4. IV. Lily

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few weeks into the bet, Lily and Remus decide to run off and get married. Oh, yeah, and Lily has some very conflicting emotions when it comes to James Potter.

**Lily**

Lily was glad this bet was taking place in their final year. Sure, she was spending her last year at Hogwarts pretending to date James Potter, of all people, but at least they were all too busy to focus too much on the pretend relationship. Everyone was preparing for their N.E.W.T.S, and James and Lily were busy doing their Head Boy and Girl duties. However many other things they had going on, though, James Potter was almost entirely dedicated to Quidditch. It was nearing the end of September, and the Quidditch season hadn’t even started yet, but he was already more invested in the game than he had ever been before. It was honestly getting to an intense point, and everyone on the Gryffindor team was starting to get on edge. Lily didn’t think his love for Quidditch could get even more extreme, but she was now proved wrong on that thought. James had always been very invested in the game, of course, but now he was even more so. 

“I’m gonna fuckin’ kill him,” Sirius grumbled at breakfast one morning, looking up from his untouched piece of toast. There was barely anyone up, as it was the weekend and fairly early, but the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team was sitting at the table. 

“I’ll help you,” Marlene yawned, a mug of coffee in her hand. Lily hadn’t seen James yet, but she knew who they were talking about. Just then, as all the team was grumbling about James in annoyed, hushed voices, Remus walked in with a book in his arms. He looked exhausted and a little ill. He often looked like this every few weeks right before leaving for the night. He claimed he was visiting his sick mother, but she had seen him going to the hospital wing and knew she wasn’t the one who was sick.

“Moony!” Sirius exclaimed, seemingly less tired than he was before as Remus slid in next to him at the table. “Will you help us murder Prongs?” Remus looked up, furrowing his eyebrows as if deep in thought.

“No,” He said, finally, and picked up Sirius’s toast off his plate and started nibbling on it.

“Aren’t boyfriends supposed to be supportive?” Sirius pouted, and Lily chuckled slightly. The two of them had really gotten comfortable fake dating these past few weeks. She and James, however, were still as awkward and uncomfortable as ever. 

“You can be as supportive of me as you want,” Remus grinned before standing up, taking Sirius’s toast with him. “I’m going to the library, see you later?” Sirius nodded and sat up straighter. Remus leaned down and gave him a kiss before he turned towards Lily. It was simple and casual, and something about the way they were smiling made her think it wasn’t all for show.

“Do you want to come?” He asked. She looked around, still not seeing James anywhere. He must have been practicing already. Mentally, she scolded herself for caring. She had to remind herself that this was a good thing because now she didn’t have to do anything romantic with him. She sighed, standing up.

“Uh, yeah,” She nodded, walking around the table. He smiled at her and they started walking out together. Just as they exited the room, however, James was running up to the doors, somewhat breathless.

“Oi, Evans!” He grinned, pushing up his glasses and running a hand through his hair. He was wearing his Quidditch uniform and by the looks of it, he had been practicing for quite a while already. 

“Potter,” She nodded towards him. “Your team isn’t happy with you.” He didn’t seem put off by that, in fact, he was still grinning. 

“It’s all going to be worth it, though,” He winked. It was insufferable how sure of himself he was. Yes, he worked extremely hard, but he acted as though everything came easy and effortless. 

“Padfoot is going to murder you,” Remus commented towards James, smiling. James turned to him like he didn’t even realize he was there even though he and Lily were standing side by side and he was just talking to her. 

“I’d like to see him try,” He said before lowering his voice. “Are you okay?” Remus simply waved him off, nodding his head. Lily looked between them, watching their expressions. She wondered what was wrong with Remus. She had a theory, of course, but it was so outlandish that there was no way it was actually true. 

“I’m fine,” He said. “Same as usual.” James just nodded and gave his shoulder a light pat. He was giving Remus a look that seemed to hold an underlying meaning, and Lily looked away feeling as though she was interfering

“Okay,” He smiled, winking again. “I’ll see you tonight.” He nodded towards Lily again before disappearing behind the door. She heard the cheery voice of James and the annoyed grumbles of the rest of the team, and she chuckled softly under her breath. As she and Remus started walking again, the voices started getting quieter until they couldn’t hear them anymore.

“You’re not pulling a prank are you?” She turned to Remus as they walked, raising her eyebrows. The way James said he’d see him tonight had had a mischievous and secretive tone that Lily learned over the years meant nothing good, especially if Peter, Sirius, or Remus was also involved.

“Huh?” Remus looked up before shaking his head. “No.” That’s all he said, and Lily didn’t push him. Remus was rather secretive sometimes, and it was usually best not to ask. He was one of the sweetest people you will ever meet, but he can also become closed off and angry when prodded.

“Are you stressed about the N.E.W.T.S?” Lily asked him as they were nearing the library. They had stayed silent, which was mostly fine. Unlike his friends, Remus was fine with silence sometimes, and it was actually quite nice on some occasions. 

“Oh, yeah,” He nodded very seriously. She knew it was true because aside from the times he was with his friends, he was usually buried in a book and scribbling down notes. “Are you?”

“Yeah,” She replied earnestly. “But I think I’m more nervous for after school.” She had been thinking about that nonstop recently. Yeah, she was excited to go out into the world, but it was also the wizarding world. She had learned so much and met so many people, but she couldn’t help that small voice in the back of her head that said she would never fit in with these people. The voice was familiar and dread washed over her, but she tried to ignore it the best she could.

“You’re going to be great, Lily,” He stopped walking, turning towards her. “You’re already great, obviously, but you’re so talented and smart, and I know you’re going to do something incredible after Hogwarts.” Lily stared at him, her eyes watering from how intensely he was telling her this; he said it as if he was trying to push the words into her brain so she felt the same way.

“Thank you, Remus,” She smiled before stepping forward, wrapping her arms around him tightly. He seemed surprised at first but he hugged her back, pressing his face against her cheek. “You’re going to do great things, too.” The doubt she was feeling subsided mostly, and she clung to the feeling of her friend’s arms around her.

“You better stop before people think you’re having a secret love affair,” A voice called, and the two pulled away to look at who it came from. Dorcus giggled at them, smiling brightly. 

“I don’t like women but I do have a strong urge to run off and marry her,” Remus commented towards Dorcus before turning back to Lily, nodding his head. “What do you say, Lily? Should we run off together?” 

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Lily laughed with him, looping her arm with her friend’s arm. Dorcus giggled along with them before she adjusted her robes and looked at them fully.

“Where are you two headed off towards?” She asked, smiling.

“Oh,” Lily smiled back. “We were just going to go to the library, do you want to come?” Dorcas shook her head, her braids falling around her face. She tucked one behind her ear before speaking again. 

“I’m going to watch the team practice,” She said. “You two should come!” Lily realized she meant Quidditch, and she wrinkled her nose. Remus, however, didn’t look upset about this at all.

“Do you usually watch their practices?” He asked. She nodded enthusiastically. 

“Yeah,” She said. “I go to watch Marls, mostly.” She had a shy smile on now, and Lily chuckled, raising her eyebrows.

“You go to watch your girlfriend, you mean?” She teased, lightheartedly. Dorcus giggled and nodded.

“Basically,” She said. “You two should come! It’ll look like you’re there to watch James and Sirius.” She laughed again, wiggling her eyebrows. Lily was about to decline, but Remus was already nodding.

“That makes sense,” He said, finally. Lily stared at him. He sometimes went to practices to watch them play, but most of the time he was reading or studying when his friends were out practicing. “Is that okay, Lily?” She looked between the two of them before she bit her lower lip, nodding slowly.

“Uh, yeah,” She nodded, though somewhat reluctantly. “That makes sense.” The two others nodded towards her before the three of them were walking back the other way to go down to the Quidditch field, hers and Remus’s arms still interlocked. 

“Hey, I didn’t know you guys were coming!” Peter exclaimed once they got to the field, waving his arm around frantically in greeting. He was the only one out in the stands watching the practice, and Lily supposed that was normal. Peter usually seemed to be wherever Sirius and James were, and he must not have much else to do besides watch them practice. 

“Hi, Peter,” Remus smiled, unlinking his and Lily’s arms and sitting next to the other boy. “We’ve come to watch Padfoot and Prongs practice.” He explained, and Peter laughed in response to the words.

“Oh, right,” He nodded. “The bet.” Lily and Dorcas sat down underneath the two, and Lily looked up at the players as they zoomed around in the sky. Her eyes fell on a familiar figure before she turned away, back towards her friends in the stands.

“Is it hard?” Dorcas asked, leaning forward and looking at the two. Remus shrugged, and Lily watched him curiously before answering.

“I don’t think it’s that bad,” She said, her eyes roaming back towards the players. “At least I’m not actually dating him.” Dorcas laughed at that, but Peter and Remus shared a look. Lily just sighed and continued watching the practice, and soon the conversation went to schoolwork. Lily stayed silent for this, continuing to watch the sky. The practice lasted a while, and James was definitely acting somewhat crazy, his intensity from earlier not leaving as he yelled out to the players. It was never mean though, she noticed, not that she was paying that much attention. After yelling something out, he’d always shoot off a grin or a wink.

At one point, a younger student kept flailing around on his broom, looking nervous. Lily watched as James flew over to him, close enough to put his hand on his shoulder. Obviously, she couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she watched their facial expressions. James was smiling, saying something to the younger boy. The boy was nodding, looking less and less nervous as he spoke. By the end of whatever conversation, they were having, the boy looked a lot more confident and was even smiling before zooming off. After that, he seemed to be flying a lot better. Lily wondered what James had said to him. 

Once the team had finished practicing for the day, the Ravenclaw team waiting impatiently to have a turn to practice, the Gryffindor team all landed. James was talking to all of them enthusiastically before he reached in his robes and started handing something out, one to each of them. Lily furrowed her brow, realizing he was handing them all sweets. The boy who he had talked to earlier was grinning, and James ruffled his hair before the team all started shuffling towards the changing rooms with smiles on their faces. James, however, turned to the stands and strode over to them. He seemed to have only recently realized Lily was there, too wrapped up in the game, and he beamed at her.

“Evans!” He exclaimed. “You came to watch me practice?” Lily scoffed, folding her arms over her chest. Of course, he’d automatically assume she was watching him.

“I came to watch the whole team, Potter,” She raised her eyebrows, staring at him. His hair was even more of a mess than usual, and it stuck all around his face and neck with sweat. “To keep up appearances.” Something flickered in his eyes before he was smiling again. He always seemed to be smiling that bloody smile.

“Right!” He nodded, shifting on his feet. Even after practicing for so long, he still seemed to be full of energy. “Did you at least enjoy watching me?” He smirked. Lily rolled her eyes at him. He may have been a great captain, but he was still James, after all. 

“Hardly,” She said before looking at him curiously. “What did you say to that boy?” She asked, motioning towards the area of the changing room. She didn’t know why she asked this, but the interaction had made her curious.

“What?” He frowned, looking rather confused. “What boy?” 

“The younger boy,” She explained. “You had your hands on his shoulders and were telling him something.” 

“Oh,” He nodded, realization dawning on his face. “Greg, he’s a third-year.” Lily waited for more, but he didn’t say anything so she continued. 

“What did you say?” She asked again.

“Right,” He chuckled, still smiling. “He just made the team and he was really nervous, so I explained to him that he was a good player, really good. At tryouts, I knew I had to have him on the team.” He hummed thoughtfully

“Oh,” Lily nodded, smiling at him. “That was really nice of you.” He shrugged, but he grinned wider at the compliment. 

“I was just telling him the truth,” He said. “I also told him it was normal to get nervous, everyone got nervous, but you shouldn’t let that get in the way of doing what you loved to do.” Lily nodded along, listening to his words. He was right, of course, but that’s not what made her so interested. 

“You don’t get nervous though,” Lily pointed out. James laughed, shaking his head.

“Of course I get nervous,” He told her like it was obvious, which it wasn’t. Sure, yes, everyone got nervous over something. Lily was smart, she knew there must be something James got nervous over, but everything he did seemed so confident that she couldn’t fathom what it was. “I get nervous every game, but I push forward because Quidditch is my second favorite thing in the whole world.” He spoke with so much passion that Lily had to look away, her eyes landing on the grass.

“I didn’t know all that,” She said before looking back towards him. He simply shrugged again. 

  
“Well, yeah,” He nodded. “It’s normal to be scared, it’s just how you handle it, you know?” It was such a Gryffindor response that Lily laughed, nodding. She did know. 

“Well, I should go get changed,” James smiled at her, his smile softer now. It wasn’t his wide, James Potter grin, but it was a nice smile nonetheless. Not that James Potter had a nice smile, but this one seemed less obnoxious and cocky. Lily sighed. “See you later?” She nodded and he turned away, but she stood up.

“Wait,” She said. He stopped, turning towards her. 

“Hm?” He mumbled. She watched him before shifting on her feet.

“You said it was your second favorite thing,” She said, watching him. He had that same confused expression had had from earlier which made her laugh.

“What?” He asked, scratching his head.

“You said Quidditch was your second favorite thing,” She said, chewing the inside of her cheek. 

“Oh, yeah,” He nodded, pushing up his glasses. “It is.”

“What’s your first favorite thing?” She asked, not even really knowing why she was asking. She should have let him go change.

“Oh, uh,” He gave her a look, raising his head to stare at her for a moment before speaking. “It’s you, obviously.” She didn’t know what she expected him to say, but the answer made her stomach churn. Why couldn’t she have a normal conversation with him?

“Obviously,” She said sarcastically. “Go change, Potter.” He looked at her, a little dejected before he sighed and turned to walk away, leaving Lily alone. She hadn’t realized that Dorcas, Remus, and Peter had left while she was talking to him. She turned and started walking off back towards the castle. James could be quite caring when it came to others. He was thoughtful and kind, and he knew how to cheer people up when they were upset. Still, Lily kept hearing the same voice in the back of her brain telling her he was just playing with her. It was the same voice that told her she didn't truly belong in the wizarding world. It was telling her that he was just pulling her along, just as _he_ did. She swallowed, looking down as she walked.

James Potter was a really nice guy, but he was still James Potter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is honestly a lot of build-up for future chapters, but if you kinda understand who's "voice" Lily keeps hearing in your head then I think you have an idea of what's to come. As always, your comments give me the motivation to write so feel free to leave one :) Also, if you wanna message me for whatever reason my tumblr is ilysmb!


	5. V. Sirius

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirius decides to be a good fake-boyfriend and pretends to be sick to stay with Remus after the full moon. It also helps that he doesn't have to go to class.

The day after full moons ever since Sirius, James, and Peter became animagi were all very similar. The three boys usually spent their day falling asleep in classes and spending every minute of free time in the hospital wing with Remus. It was a comforting thing, having this little regime. It wasn’t perfect, obviously, but it worked. Remus was far less often injured, and everything worked out. Although it was a normal routine, however, Sirius still felt weird about going to class while Remus sat in the hospital wing. He had spent a lot of time the past few weeks with Remus, and it didn’t feel right to just suddenly go back to how it was before. They weren’t actually dating, mind you, but he still felt like it had to be different. Plus, he really wanted to get out of class.

“Are you sure you aren’t feeling well?” Madam Pomphrey asked, raising her eyebrows. He waited awhile, for everyone to start heading off towards their respective classes before he was walking himself over to the hospital wing.

“Yes,” Sirius nodded back solemnly, hoping he was convincing. He hadn’t slept at all last night, obviously, so he knew he didn’t look like the epitome of health. “I really think I need to rest for the day here.” 

“And this has nothing to do with your boyfriend being here?” She asked, crossing her arms. He shifted on his feet, shaking his head. He really had no idea how she knew about all of that, but it was just proof that the bet was working. He and Remus had become increasingly better at this whole fake dating thing, and not a single person even questioned it anymore. In fact, no one even batted an eye when they snogged now. The two of them were definitely going to win this bet. 

“I am really feeling sick,” Sirius urged, feigning weakness. “I think I should lie down right now.” He yawned, rubbing his eyes for effect. Well, he actually yawned. He was extremely tired from not sleeping, even if he was used to that by now.

“Okay, fine,” She sighed, shaking her head. “Just for today.” He grinned, trying not to look too happy before he turned and marched to the end of the room. He kicked off his shoes and threw his robe down onto the table next to the bed closest to Remus’s. Remus, during this whole ordeal, had been fast asleep in his own bed. Careful not to disturb him, Sirius quietly slipped into the bed next to him and pulled the covers up. He turned, watching the other boy sleep. It was a creepy thing to do, to be fair, but it’s not like he hadn’t watched him sleep before. Not that he was a creep, but he had shared a room with him since they were eleven. Sirius watched the boy's chest rise and fall as he slept, smiling at the familiarity of it before he, too, was drifting off.

-

“Pads,” A voice hissed, and Sirius felt a weight falling on top of him before he slowly opened his eyes, blinking tiredly.

“Hm?” He grumbled, pushing off the pillow that was just thrown at him. He turned, slowly, his eyes falling on Remus, who was sitting up in his bed, crossing his arms.

“What the hell are you doing here?” He raised his eyebrows and smiled lightly. Sirius smiled back, pushing himself up until he was sitting as well. He looked over at Remus, his eyes falling over his appearance. He looked more refreshed after some rest, but it was evident the moon took a toll on him. 

“I was tired,” Sirius complained, pushing himself off the bed and stepping over to the other bed. Remus rolled his eyes, scooting over to make room. Sirius smiled at this, climbing into the bed next to him. Like the beds in their dorm, the beds in the hospital wing were honestly too small to hold two seventeen-year-old boys. Hell, they barely fit Remus at this point, who was the tallest of the marauders and towered over a fair share of their classmates. “Plus, it’s kind of boyfriend-y?” 

“No one knows this is where I go every month,” Remus pointed out, knocking their knees together. Sirius watched them before laying back, resting his head on the mattress. Remus followed suit, laying down next to him.

“Someone could get injured and show up suddenly,” Sirius mumbled, absentmindedly running a hand over the other boy’s palm. 

“That’s true,” Remus nodded, humming in agreement. Sirius swallowed, playing with his fingers. 

“Does it get boring in here?” Sirius asked, not because he was bored himself. He felt warm and relaxed, most likely because he had finally gotten rest. 

“Not really, I’m usually reading,” Remus replied quietly, though Sirius wasn’t quite sure why he was being so quiet. He was usually quiet and patient around everyone, but he tended to be louder and more easily snap when he was alone with his friends. He wasn’t an angry person, he was just less reserved with their small group. 

“Why aren’t you reading now?” Sirius asked, tilting his head so he could look at him. 

“Because you’re distracting me,” Remus smiled. “Plus, if I tried reading you’d just complain. You’re quite obnoxious when you’re bored.” Sirius turned away, sighing. He knew that his friend didn’t mean anything by it. He and Remus were often teasing each other like this, but sometimes he couldn’t stop the pang in his chest when he thought too hard about it. He really didn’t want to be an annoyance to anyone, and especially not Remus. Even if he was less patient with his friends, he was still so patient with them, especially Sirius. He knew how he could be. He knew he could get on people’s nerves and impose. Hell, he was even sure that he got on James’s nerves sometimes.

“Sirius?” Sirius looked up at his name, looking up into golden-green eyes. He loved those eyes. They were mostly a pale green colour, but there were flecks of gold and yellow dancing around them like golden confetti. It was so cool.

“Yeah?” Sirius asked, tilting his head. Remus furrowed his eyebrows, his hand closing around the hand Sirius had previously been playing with his fingers with.

“Nothing,” Remus mumbled, gripping his hand. “I just…” He paused, looking up at the ceiling. Sirius watched him, his chest still tight but deflating ever so slightly.

“I like having your company here,” He said finally. “You’re more interesting than a book.” His words came out stern and solid, not a hint of doubt in them. Sirius grinned at him.

“Aw, Moony,” He placed a sloppy kiss on Remus’s cheek as a joke, and the other boy groaned audibly and shoved his head away.

“Shut up,” He grumbled, rolling his eyes. “You’re like a fucking dog.” Sirius laughed. Soon after, James and Peter had shown up with chocolate bars hidden in their robes. Remus and Sirius pulled away from each other, but they stayed side by side on the bed as the four boys ate chocolate and whispered about their nighttime endeavor. His anxiety from before didn’t completely go away, but he felt better. He had three excellent friends who somehow still laughed with him and cared about him despite his annoying tendencies. He really did love the three of them a lot. He glanced over at Remus who was shoving a piece of chocolate in his mouth before shooting off a joke towards James. He just wished everything could stay like this forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello sorry, this update came out later than usual, and sorry this is so short!! I have been busy with school cause apparently college is hard as fuck, and honestly writing fics for another fandom but I promise I am going to keep working on this and I am going to finish it. I have every chapter planned out, so I won't let yall down! For your forgiveness of being late, here is a fluffy wolfstar filler chapter (a calm before the storm) anyways, comment if you liked it, as per usual, and have a good day/afternoon/night!


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